The Migs "Mikoyan OKB", was founded in 1939 on
Leningradskiy Shassi (highway) with a series of buildings and a
small factory for use in building prototypes. The OKB was at
first, as the title implies, strictly an R&D facility that built
prototypes. The Mikoyan flight test center is located at
Zhukovskiy (called Ramenskoye, or abbreviated "RAM" by western
intelligence and used in the intelligence designation of new
aircraft such as "RAM-K", "RAM-J", etc.) and at Volga, on the
Crimean peninsula, and other facilities on a temporary basis.
There has always been the question of why did the US intell
organizations recognize Ramenskoye as the name of the test
facility when the Russians have always addressed it as
Zhukovskiy. When the facility first opened the town of
Ramenskoye was the nearest population center. There was a
worker's construction camp, named Zhukovskiy, that eventually
grew into a larger town and became the nearest population center
and official Russian name for the facility.

Read the descriptions of the MiG airplane
models, and books and videos about the MiG Aircraft below and learn a lot more.
This page also contains software and aviation art prints of these MiG aircraft.

Book Description
The MiG-31 Foxhound long-range interceptor flew in prototype form as the
Ye-155MP in 1975 and entered production in 1979, with the first
regiments becoming operational in 1982. It has also been sold to China,
and it remains in service in significant numbers. Yefim Gordon, the
doyen of Russian aviation writers, continues to amass an outstanding
archive of previously unpublished materials. Though the MiG-31 was
covered to some extent in the now out-of- print and sought-after Aerofax
on the MiG-25 and -31, this new book will be close to a definitive work
on this important aircraft and include an enormous amount of newly
released and acquired information and a splendid array of unpublished
photographs (including detailed walk-around shots) and drawings. The
narrative of course includes detailed discussion of the background to
the project, its development, versions, service, weaponry, and
comparisons with its contemporaries such as the F-14 Tomcat. The
aircraft is a favorite with enthusiasts and modelers, and the extensive
coverage, both technical and operational, backed up by high-quality
images and drawings, will have wide appeal. This book is intended as the
first of an occasional series of ‘in-depth’ monographs on major
Russian types.

About the Author
Yefim Gordon is one of Russias leading aviation writers and publishers. He is
the author of many books on Soviet aviation and currently lives in Moscow.

MiG-37B Ferret 1/72 Scale Aircraft Model Kit
While no Russian equivalent to the U.S.
F-117 Stealth Fighter is known to exist, this model is a
conception of what such an aircraft might look like, based on
extensive research into the capabilities of the Russian aircraft
industry. Detailed plastic kit features raised and recessed
panel lines; detailed interior; unique "platypus" exhaust; and
optional position speed brakes and missile bay doors. Includes
51 pieces and choice of markings. 7" wingspan; assembly
required.

Russian Mikoyan Aircraft.
.

Mikoyan's Piston-Engined Fighters.
Softbound Book.
Red Star Vol. 13

Gordon & Dexter. This book
describes the first aircraft produced by the Mikoyan Design Bureau during and
after WWII. Covering historic planes such as the I-200 (later the MiG-1) of
1940, the MiG-5 which served as a long-range heavy escort, the I-250(N)
mixed-power fighter with its "pseudo-turbojet" in the tail, and others, this is
a detailed developmental and operational history of production types and
variants. 128 pgs., 240 B&W photos, 8 pgs. of color artwork, line drawings, 8"x
11", sfbd.

Stepan
Anastasovich Mikoyan

General
Designer and recognized academician, Rostislav Apollosovich
Belyakov, took over the MiG Bureau in 1970 following the death
of its founder, Anushavan "Artyom" Ivanovich Mikoyan
(05Aug1905-09Dec1970). This was made possible because of Mikhail
Iosifovich Gurevich's (12. Jan 1893-12. Nov 1976) retirement in
1964. Belyakov was a graduate of the Moscow Aviation Institute
during World War II. He received a State Prize for design
excellence in 1951, and was chief designer of the MiG-23 during
the 1960's. Belyakov ran the Mikoyan establishment with four
Chief Designers, of which Mikhail Romanovich Waldenberg and
Anatoly Andreevich Belosvet were the most known in the west, and
fourteen deputy Chief Designers. A new Department of Foreign
Economic Relations was formed under Leonid Borisovich Leshchiner
and his immediate deputy, Yuri Petrovich Golovin, and chartered
to work with all of the potential export customers.

These names are mentioned
because they show up regularly at the major international air
shows and exhibitions. The "Mikoyan OKB", was founded in 1939 on
Leningradskiy Shassi (highway) with a series of buildings and a
small factory for use in building prototypes. The OKB was at
first, as the title implies, strictly an R&D facility that built
prototypes. The Mikoyan flight test center is located at
Zhukovskiy (called Ramenskoye, or abbreviated "RAM" by western
intelligence and used in the intelligence designation of new
aircraft such as "RAM-K", "RAM-J", etc.) and at Volga, on the
Crimean peninsula, and other facilities on a temporary basis.
There has always been the question of why did the US intell
organizations recognize Ramenskoye as the name of the test
facility when the Russians have always addressed it as
Zhukovskiy. When the facility first opened the town of
Ramenskoye was the nearest population center. There was a
worker's construction camp, named Zhukovskiy, that eventually
grew into a larger town and became the nearest population center
and official Russian name for the facility.

The Mikoyan OKB could hand
tool up no more than two prototypes at one time and usually
there were strict security precautions in place. Aircraft
manufacturing for flight test articles would move to two
production facilities, the closest of which was the Moscow
Aircraft Production Organization No. 30 (MAPO), known also as
the GAZ-30 plant. The second was the Nizhny Novgorod State
Aircraft Plant or the "Znamya Truda" (Banner of Labor) factory
which eventually re-organized under the corporate name of Sokol.

The MAPO facility is located
in Moscow proper, on Botkinski Street, at the Khodinka bus stop.
It is the oldest aircraft production facility in Russia, first
utilized in 1909. During 1939, it was redesigned the State
Aircraft Works No. 1. Today the factory is still run under Plant
Director General Anatoly Sergyevich Manuyev who reports to
Mikoyan's Chief Designer Waldenberg and Russian Air Force Plant
Representative Colonel Viktor Isayenko. Note that Lenin's glass
covered and pressurized casket was built here after his death in
1924.

MAPO employed at its peak up
to 30,000 people with an additional 3,000 for non-aviation
related production items. It covers over 618 acres of land and
space. Production of the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, and MiG-29
aircraft were all centered at this facility. Flight
certification and delivery flights are conducted from Lukhovitsy
airfield, which is close by and today occasionally hosts an
international air display.

Once the aircraft are in
production, the OKB is responsible for designing improvements
based on requests and reports from the operational units
designated by the air force. The overall design process is done
in close collaboration with the Ministry of Aviation Industry
(MAP), its Research Institutes (such as TsAGI the aero center),
and the military customer. Flight Testing is done in three
stages, "plant testing" (no military) at Zhukovskiy, "design
testing" (with a mix of military pilots) at environmental
facilities all over the country, and "state testing" (extensive
military participation) at designated military installations
where the aircraft become certified for use by the Air Forces.

During a visit to colleges and
defense plants in the United States, Rostislav A. Belyakov
candidly voiced his opinions on the objectives and lessons
learned from the MiG-29 development program and they were
published in "Some Aspects of the MiG Aircraft Development",
Mikoyan Design Bureau, 1989.